Method of manufacturing multiple boxes



2,296, WALTER HALE PAXTON, ALSO KNOWN AS HALE PAXTON Sept. 22, 1942.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING MULTIPLE BOXES Filed April 29, 1946 Patented Sept. 22, 1942 METHOD OF MANUFACTURING MULTIPLE BOXES Walter Hale deceased, late of Riv Paxton, also known as Hale Paxton, erside, Calif., by Geraldine Paxton and H. S. Nicks, executors, both of Riverside, Calif., assignors to Food Machinery Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application April 29, 1940, Serial No. 332,322

2 Claims.

manufacture and particularly to the manufacf ture of multiple containers. In the marketing of certain fresh farm products, such as oranges and other fruits, it has been found advantageous to provide for delivering these to the ultimate consumer in a package in which the product was packed at the packing house from which it was shipped. This has led to the devising of multiple boxes in which each shipping package is made up of a multiple of small containers. In the packinghouse the fruit is packed in each of the individual containers contained in the multiple package, and these smaller containers are lidded. Upon arriving at the market, the multiple packages are distributed to the retailers and the retailers disassemble the multiple packages so as to divide these into separate individual containers which are sold to individual customers.

In order to give this mode of merchandising its maximum scope, it is necessary that the cost of producing these multiple boxes be reduced. as nearly as possible to the cost of producing the larger unitary containers in which fruit is ordinarily shipped to market. It also renders this mode of merchandising attractive to have the various container units of a multiple container assembled together in such a fashion as will resist their being separated by the stresses experienced in shipment but which will permit the ready disassembly of the various containers in the multiple packages by the retailer in preparation for selling the individual container units.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a relatively inexpensive process of manufacturing multiple unit containers suitable for packing, shipping, and retailing fresh. fruits and the like, which process is relatively economical to perform and which at the same time produces a multiple container having the advantageous characteristics aforesaid.

Among the factors which can contribute to the reduction of expense in manufacture is the use of standard equipment and the accomplishing of the manufacture with as few operations as possible.

It is another object of this invention, therefore, to provide a process as aforesaid, in which multiple boxes may be manufactured with standard nailing machines and mill equipment and thus use only a minimum amount of labor in the manufacture of said box.

This case is a continuation in part of the copending application of Hale Paxton S. N. 188,910.

This invention relates to the art of container" I The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects as well as further objects and advantages will be made manifest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a side or bottom slat such as is preferably used in the process of this invention in the manufacturing of multiple boxes.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a unitary box section including two complete units as this section is first made up in the process of this invention.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a, View similar to Fig. 3 after the side slat sawing operation of the process of this invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a multiple box after the manufacture of this has been completed by the process of this invention.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 6-5 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a preferred form of clasp which may be used in binding together the two sections of the box. illustrated in Fig. 5.

The method of this invention embraces in general the manufacture of a multiple unit package which includes two or more box sections, each of which sections contains within itself and is capable of being divided into a plurality of individual box units. One of these box sections is illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing and identified by the letter S. As the section S illustrated in the drawing includes two box units, it is understood that it might equally well contain a greater number of such units.

The box section S as illustrated includes outer ends 10 and inner partitions I I which are grouped together in pairs, and slats l2. The section S is so dimensioned that the slats l2 are suitable for forming both sides and the bottom of this section; that is, the heads Ill and partitions II are substantially square so that slats of the same dimension may be used for forming both the sides and the bottom of the section. While each side and the bottom of the section S is shown as formed of two slats, this is not essential and a smaller or greater number of slats can be used for this purpose if desired.

The manufacture of the sections S is accomplished in a standard type of box making machine such as machines suitable for making orange boxes in which a single middle partition is employed, the only change in the machine necessary being a substitution of double nail chucks in the middle of the machine for the single nail chucks used in making orange boxes.

In making up the box, however, two partitions II are fed into the machine in the place of feeding in a single partition as in making an orange box. Otherwise, the process of manufacture of the section S by machinery in common use is identical to the process of making an ordihary California orange box.

The process of this invention comprehends the weakening of the slats I2 as by scorings I3 which are produced along opposite faces of these slats along lines which will lie between the partitions II when the section S has been assembled. In making up the section S, certain of the slats I2 have to be printed as indicated in Figs. 2 and 5, for purposes of advertising the product contained in the box during shipment and distribution of the same. Other slats, such as those disposed on the bottoms of the box and possibly the opposite side of those having printed slats may not have to be printed. In feeding the slats I2 into the machine for making up the sections S, it is necessary to have the printed slats interspersed between the plain slats in such order that when each box is made up the printed slats will be fed from the machine at the proper time and in the proper positions to form the side of the section S which it is desired carry the advertising on these printed slats. In placing the slats into the magazine of the box making machine, therefore, the slats are stacked by hand in this particular order. I

The purpose of the scorings I3 as will be made clear hereinafter, is to permit the slats I2 to be readily broken in two along lines located between the partitions II of each section S so as to divide this section into two complete box units U. The scorings I3 provided in the slats I2 are sufficiently deep to make it possible to neatly divide these slats along the lines of scoring by bending the slats in the act of disassembling the multiple box formed by this material; yet the material left unbroken by the scorings is depended upon to hold the multiple box together while it is being packed and shipped and up until it is finally disassembled by the retailer.

In using the slats I2 in manufacturing a box section S, these slats must be handled very carefully after they have been scored, so as not to fracture the portion of the slat remaining unsevered at the lines of scoring. The invention therefore contemplates the scoring of the slats I2 after these have been placed in the nailing machine in the proper order for forming the sides and bottoms of box sections S as these are produced in said machine. The forming of the scorings I3 takes place, therefore, after each of the slats I2 is fed from the bottom of the magazine of the box making machine and started toward a position in which this slat is nailed to ends and partitions I and II.

By thus scoring the slats I2 as these are being machine-fed to nailing positions in the machine, the retention in the slats I2 of the necessary strength along the lines of scoring I3 is assured.

The process of this invention contemplates the assembly of two or more of the sections S into a single multiple box B as illustrated in Fig. 5. This assembly is eifected by placing the sections S alongside each other with the ends Iii thereof flush, and then uniting these ends by clasps I4. One of these clasps is shown in perspective in Fig. 7. This clasp is formed of a sheet of metal to provide a main body I5 having teeth I 6 bent in opposite directions from its inner edge and arms I1, bent in opposite directions at angles greater than from its outer edge, the arms I! having teeth bent inwardly from their outer ends. To unite sections S by use of the clasp I4, two clasps are placed with their body portions I5 inserted between the heads I0 of these sections and the sections pushed together to imbed the teeth I6 into the material of these sections. When the adjacent side faces of these sections are thus brought into face-to-face contact, the arms I! of these clasps are bent inwardly to drive the teeth I8 thereof into the heads I0 of these sections. This produces a temporary but very effective assembly of two units S to form a multiple box B.

To facilitate the ready disassembly by the retailer of each section S into its various separate units U without the necessity of his using any saw, and yet to insure that the multiple box B will remain fully assembled during shipment to market, the process of this invention contemplates the severing of the slats I2 forming the inner sides of the sections S before these sections are joined to produce a multiple box B. Then, after these sections have been joined by the clasp I4 as above described, the box B is run over the saw so as to sever the bottom slats of this box along the lines of scoring I3.

The sectional view of Fig. 4 illustrates the condition of each section S after the inner side slats have been completely severed along the lines of scoring I3, prior to assembly of the box sections to form a multiple box unit B. Fig. 6 illustrates the condition of the slats in a box B along the lines of scorings I3 after the box B has been assembled and the bottom slats of this box have been severed along the lines of said scorings. It is to be noted here that the side slats I2 along the outsides of the multiple box unit B are unsevered along the scored lines I3. Thus these outside side slats unite the units U at opposite ends of the sections S and the box unit B which these sections are combined to form.

While the preferred form of the method of this invention contemplates the retention of the bottom slats of each section S in incompletely severed condition until after these sections have been assembled into a multiple box unit B, it is in some situations suitable to sever the slats of the bottom of each section S as well as the slats of the inner sides thereof, just before assembly of these sections to produce a multiple box unit B. Where the assembling operation immediately follows the severing operation, a sufficiently gentle handling of the sections following the slat severing operation is possible so that both the inner side and bottom slats may be severed prior to the assembling of the sections.

From the foregoing description, it is clear that the process of this invention permits the manufacture of multiple boxes by standard equipment at a minimum of cost and in such a manner as to insure that the outer side slats of these boxes retain the necessary strength to hold the various portions of the box together as a multiple package during the strains imposed upon the package while it is enroute to market.

In employing the boxes B for the shipment of fresh fruits and the like, the fruit is packed into the individual units U in much the same manner as it is packed into larger containers, this packing being done after the sections 8 are assembled into multiple boxes B. After all the units of a box B have thus been packed with fruit, these boxes are lidded so that the lids of the individual units U remain with these respective units when the box as a whole is broken up at the retailers.

The claims are:

1. A method of manufacturing a unitary multiple box which is readily divisible into separate complete box units, said method comprising: making two unitary box sections, each constituting within itself two or more complete box units, disposed end-to-end and joined by the sides and bottom of the units in each section being continuous; severing the bottom of each section and one side of said section between the juxtaposed ends of the units of said sections; and uniting said sections together, side-by-side with the severed sides of said sections disposed inwardly.

2. A method of manufacturing a unitary multiple box consisting of two unitary box sections bound together, each of said sections being readily divisible into two or more separate box units, the latter being disposed end-to-end in said sections, said method comprising: making up said two unitary box sections with the side and bottom slats thereof scored so that said scorings lie between the juxtaposed ends of the units of said sections; severing the bottom of each section and one side of said section along said scorings; and uniting said sections together sideby-side with the severed sides of said sections disposed inwardly.

GERALDINE PAXTON, H. S. NICKS, Executors of the Last Will and Testament of Walter Hale Paxton, Deceased. 

